on july 6, 1964, he led 50 african americans to the courthouse in selma, alabama, on voter registration day, but sheriff jim clark arrested them rather than allow them to apply to vote. i played for congressman lewis a clip of his close friend and ally, martin luther king jr., speaking in 1965 about jim clark. rev. martin luther king jr.: i am here to tell you tonight that the businessmen, the mayor of this city, the police commissioner of this city, and everybody in the white power structure of this city must take a responsibility for everything that jim clark does in this community. it's time for us to say to these men, that if you don't do something about it, we will have no alternative but to engage in broader and more drastic forms of civil disobedience in order to bring the attention of the nation to this whole issue in selma, alabama. amy goodman: dr. martin luther king. you were in the church, john lewis. rep. john lewis: it was an unbelievable speech. dr. king spoke out of his gut. sheriff clark was a very mean man. he was vicious. i think maybe he was a little sick. he wore a